A Story About Going Green

The rewards and challenges this mom learned along the way

August 20, 2016
by Allison McDonald

Sunny studio/ Shutterstock.com

I have a physical aversion to hypocrisy, my own and that of others. But true to the nature of all perfectionists, I hold myself to an even more rigorous standard than I do anyone else. Which is why, when entering our 30s and my husband and I both embarked on new careers that took us out of our traditional corporate jobs and into entrepreneurial endeavours with an environmental focus, I decided it was time to start practicing what we preached in our own lives. And it wasn't—and isn't—always easy.

In my former life, as I like to think of it, I spent the better part of a decade working my way up the ladder as an editor in the world of publishing, only to realize it was taking me further away from what I'd truly always wanted to be—a writer. So with the support of my husband, I left the world of editing altogether and struck out to be the next Elizabeth Gilbert (pre-Eat Pray Love). I spent hours pitching to magazines and newspapers, convinced that "this piece" would be it. Only to be met with constant rejection and struggle. But I kept on and eventually, built up a respectable-ish repertoire of online lifestyle and health publications in notable Canadian magazines. Things were on a roll!

And then I had a baby.

Having become a freelancer in order to pursue my dream of a writer's life, I didn't have the option for maternity leave. So after only three months’ post-partum, I was back at my computer, bleary-eyed and sending story ideas to anyone who would listen. But it turns out three months in the magazine world might as well be three years. I came to learn that all of my contacts had either moved on to new positions or gone on maternity leave themselves. Which left me with a dilemma that was two-fold: How was I going to occupy my brain between feedings and diaper changes, and how was I going to bring in money to help with my family's bottom line? It took me 7 more months to find the answer.

Meanwhile, my husband was setting out on a new and worthy endeavour of his own. He and his best friend since childhood were teaming up to leave their lucrative corporate jobs, throwing everything they had into a startup intended to solve the coffee pod dilemma. Noble, right? Totally. And also terrifying, because as much as we both believed in his decision to take that leap of faith, as well as the urgent need for someone to start doing something about all that waste accumulating in landfills, we had recently purchased our first home in a highly desirable Toronto neighbourhood (getting into the market by the skin of our teeth) and had that little bundle of aforementioned joy to think of, too.

As July approached and the day was coming where my husband would officially be part-owner of GoJava and no longer a high-powered corporate leader, the familiar voice came back, only stronger. What are you going to do with yourself, it asked. And, whatever it is, it better be good.

The summertime for us, as for many, is birthday, wedding and baby shower-laden. One day when looking for yet another beautiful-but-overpriced card for one such occasion, I started checking the back of so many options to see what it was made of and saw that only one out of a dozen was made with recycled paper. And I was appalled. Strolling around with my baby, I was ranting silently to no one in my head. Why, in this day and age, do we still have paper products being made with virgin paper, I thought. Seriously? What's wrong with people!! And that's when the solution to my question—how am I going to occupy my brain and also make a living—came to me. I would start my own card line, which would technically mean I was writing again, if in shorter form, and I would also set out to prove that I could make beautiful, high quality cards that were as entirely eco-friendly as possible, from the packaging down to the ink. To my delight, within an hour of opening my Etsy store, I received my first order, and they continued to roll in from there.

Green Gurus?

With our two big moves, my husband and I had inadvertently set ourselves up within our families and social circle as environmental gurus. People would come to us to ask how to recycle certain household items, whether certain food packaging could even go to recycling (big news flash to all the moms out there: those amazingly convenient suckable smoothie packages? They all go to landfill, even if you think they should be recyclable). People would apologize to me if they gave me a card or product made from non-recycled or non-environmentally sustainable material. I also found myself having no issue shaming others about their non-green lifestyle practices because, after all, the planet is a community space and I had a right to stand up for it.

And here’s where that aversion to hypocrisy set in. I forced myself to take a good, hard look at our own green practices before moving on to shaming others. And what I realized was that, as much as I was entirely committed in my heart to doing my part for the environment, and wanted to give my family the benefits of an eco-friendly life, we still had a long way to go to reach anything close to an ideally green lifestyle.

Going green, one step at at time

While I certainly tried to find clothing that was ethically and sustainably sourced, sometimes budget or style took over and I bought my son shorts from The Gap or Joe Fresh. I tried shopping for myself exclusively from H&M’s Conscious Collection, but at times it was either too expensive, I couldn’t find it in the stores (only certain locations carry it), or it just wasn’t what I needed. I did our laundry and dishes with eco-friendly products, and I still cleaned our home with vinegar and water, but I worried anytime I cooked with chicken that my choice of cheap and chemical-free cleaning product was not protecting us from salmonella and nearly gave myself a coronary if I thought I accidentally let a piece of raw chicken touch a surface I couldn’t then shove into the dishwasher.

I bought organic food, but I also used those smoothie pouches more than I care to admit because they were convenient and gave me enough time to go on a walk with my fussy baby, a walk I so desperately needed for my sanity and my waistline. I also used single-serve coffee pods, and though I knew they were being recycled thanks to my husband, I also knew that recycling is still waste and if I were really as committed as I should be, I would just use our French press (despite the fact that to me the coffee it produces tastes like warm mud).

But what I also learned in taking that good hard look at our green lifestyle practices was that, as a family and also as environmental entrepreneurs, all anyone can do is start from whatever point they’re at in their life. From there, you do the best you can, learning about new resources as you go, eliminating your less-than-ideal practices along the way, and you just keep working at it, one smoothie pouch at a time.

Kind of like learning to be anything else, really: a parent, a wife, a husband, a boss—a writer. The most important thing is that you start.

AllisonMcDonald is a freelance writer and owner of September Project (www.septemberproject.etsy.com) a line of eco-friendly greeting cards designed with a minimalist vibe. She is married to Eugene Ace, the CEO of GoJava (www.gojava.ca), a company that delivers and recycles coffee pods throughout the GTA. Together they have a toddler, James, whom they hope to make a green warrior out of just as soon as they can tear him away from Frozen.

EcoParent is a quarterly magazine for families that want to make healthier, greener lifestyle choices. Fun and inspirational in tone – and never judgmental – we appeal to the already eco-savvy, but remain accessible to the newly eco-curious. Food, fashion, books, travel, health & beauty, home & garden, and so much more!